The “summer slide” refers to what can happen to kids’ brains when they are idle during the summer months. Experts from the National Summer Learning Association estimate that the equivalent of about two month’s instruction time can be lost if children don’t keep their brains active during that break from school. Reading is a great way to keep the brain active and combat the summer slide. To help, we have some fun things planned at the Washington-Centerville Public Library to get kids excited to read this summer!

We’re kicking off our annual Summer Reading Club today, and it will run until July 31. If you’re not familiar with how our club works, it’s really easy and REALLY FUN! Registration can be done in person at the Woodbourne Library, Centerville Library, or online. Kids entering preschool – 5^th grade can join our children’s club, where they get a “gamecard” to track their reading (by hours or by number of books read—it’s their choice). Along the way, there are prizes to win, and each child who completes the children’s club will earn a book! For babies and toddlers, we have gamecards that are filled with fun early literacy activities for you and your little one to do together, and each baby or toddler to finish the club earns a board book to keep!

During the summer, we also have tons of great programs for the whole family to enjoy. Some of these programs include: Happy Birthday, Very Hungry Caterpillar!, Fun with Mike Hemmelgarn, Family Mission to the Moon, Curiosity Dome, and Wild About Wildlife! Check out all of our programs here.

In addition, starting June 3, each week we’ll have a different theme for our craft centers located in the children’s room at the Centerville and Woodbourne Libraries. You and your kids can stop by anytime we’re open to make cool crafts and color our coloring sheets.

Finally, check out our new summer storytime schedule here. Registration is not necessary for any summer storytimes. Feel free to come whenever you can!

We’re looking forward to seeing lots of excited readers at the library this summer!

The post A Universe of Stories! appeared first on Dayton Parent Magazine.

The “summer slide” refers to what can happen to kids’ brains when they are idle during the summer months. Experts from the National Summer Learning Association estimate that the equivalent of about two month’s instruction time can be lost if children don’t keep their brains active during that break from school. Reading is a great way to keep the brain active and combat the summer slide. To help, we have some fun things planned at the Washington-Centerville Public Library to get kids excited to read this summer!

We’re kicking off our annual Summer Reading Club today and will run until July 28. If you’re not familiar with how our club works, it’s really easy and REALLY FUN! Registration can be done in person at the Centerville Library or online. Kids entering preschool – 5^th grade can join our children’s club, where they get a “gamecard” to track their reading (by hours or by number of books read—it’s their choice). Along the way, there are prizes to win, and each child who completes the children’s club will earn a book! For babies and toddlers, we have gamecards that are filled with fun early literacy activities for you and your little one to do together, and each baby or toddler to finish the club earns a board book to keep!

During the summer, we also have tons of great programs for the whole family to enjoy. Some of these programs include: Stories in Motion with Dayton Ballet II, W.A.T.E.R. Safety with Goldfish Swim School, Fun with Mike Hemmelgarn, and Outdoor Survival Skills with the Centerville-Washington Park District! Check out all of our programs here.

In addition, each week we’ll have a different theme for our craft centers located in the children’s room at the Centerville Library. You and your kids can stop by anytime we’re open to make cool crafts and color our coloring sheets.

Finally, check out our new summer storytime schedule here. Registration is not necessary for any summer storytimes. Feel free to come whenever you can!

We’re looking forward to seeing lots of excited readers at the library this summer!

The post Camp Read S’More! appeared first on Dayton Parent Magazine.

Do you want to know how you can best prepare your child to be successful in kindergarten? Are you wondering what school is even like these days for a kindergarten student? Do you wish you could talk to someone who had these answers and more?

You’re in luck! Monday, January 29, at the Centerville Library, we will be holding our annual Ready, Set, Kindergarten! program. Each year, we have a panel of local kindergarten teachers speak about ways in which you can get your soon-to-be kindergarten student ready for school. We’ll also have a librarian on hand to talk about some of the library’s resources that can help you grow your little learner. There will be plenty of time at the end for questions. If you have a little one who will be starting kindergarten in the next year or two, you don’t want to miss this program!

What: Ready, Set, Kindergarten!

When: 7:00-8:30 PM, Monday, January 29, 2018

Where: Centerville Library – 111 W. Spring Valley Rd. Centerville, OH 45458

The post Ready, Set, Kindergarten! appeared first on Dayton Parent Magazine.

I’ve been reading a book recently called Thirty Million Words: Building a Child’s Brain by Dana Suskind, MD. It focuses on three key ways in which parents can interact with their children to help their child’s brain development: tune in, talk more, and take turns (the “Three Ts”). The book goes into great detail about each of the Three Ts and provides much insight on what’s happening inside the heads of our littlest learners. It also provides tons of nuggets of advice for parents. Here’s one:

The post 5 Tips for Summer-Reading Success appeared first on Dayton Parent Magazine.

The “summer slide” refers to what can happen to kids’ brains when they are idle during the summer months. Experts from the National Summer Learning Association estimate that the equivalent of about two month’s instruction time can be lost if children don’t keep their brains active during that break from school. Reading is a great way to keep the brain active and combat the summer slide. To help, we have some fun things planned at the Washington-Centerville Public Library to get kids excited to read this summer!

We’re just about to kick off our annual Summer Reading Club, which will run from May 30 until July 29. If you’re not familiar with how our club works, it’s really easy and REALLY FUN! Registration can be done in person at either library (Centerville or Woodbourne @ Cross Pointe) or online. Kids entering preschool – 5^th grade can join our children’s club, where they get “gamecards” to track their reading (by hours or by number of books read—it’s their choice). Along the way, there are prizes to win, and each child who completes the children’s club will earn a book! For babies and toddlers, we have gamecards that are filled with fun early literacy activities for you and your little one to do together. Along the way, you earn rhyme cards to use with your child, and each baby or toddler to finish the club earns a board book to keep!

During the summer, we also have tons of great programs for the whole family to enjoy. Some of these programs include: Fun with Mike Hemmelgarn, Dr. Insecta and the Incredible Bug Lab Experience, Outdoor Family Game Night, and Family Mystery Night! Check out all of our programs here.

In addition, each week we’ll have a different theme for our craft centers located in the children’s room at the Centerville Library. You and your kids can stop by anytime we’re open to make cool crafts and color our coloring sheets.

Finally, check out our new summer storytime schedule here. Registration is not necessary for any summer storytimes. Feel free to come whenever you can!

We’re looking forward to seeing lots of excited readers at the library this summer!

The post Go Undercover! appeared first on Dayton Parent Magazine.

When my niece, Charlie, was two years old, she got a huge alphabet mat for her playroom. Before getting the mat, she’d learned a few letters (C for Charlie, M for Mama, etc.), but within days of having it, she became obsessed with letters and learned them all. I’d like to think it’s because she’s inherited all of her aunt’s genes and is a prodigy, but in reality, she loved learning the alphabet because it was made into a fun game for her.

Rather than drilling her on letters, which is not too much fun for most kids, her parents made the letter-learning exciting. Her mom would say: “Charlie, find the h for hop—h-h-hop.” Charlie would locate the h, pick it up, and hop up and down with it in her hands, giggling the whole time. Next, it might be: “Okay, now find the k for kick—k-k-kick.” Charlie would hunt down the k, pull it from the mat, and kick it across the room. She’d quack like a duck when finding the q for quack. When she had to find “D for Dada” or “J for Joey,” her very handsome newborn brother, she carried the letter to the appropriate person and gave it to him.

This fun game, that Charlie LOVED to play, was doing some pretty wonderful things for her growing brain. Letter knowledge is a hugely important pre-reading skill, for obvious reasons. And, research indicates that it’s best to teach the name and sound of a letter together. So, just the addition of the k sound in “k-k-kick” is really beneficial. The fact that she could pick up and hold the letters really helped her learn their shapes, too. In addition, kids learn best when what they are learning relates to them. So, when Charlie could associate a letter with a person, action, or object she liked, it helped her remember it.

If you’ve been struggling teaching your little one letters or are getting ready to start, give this game a shot. If you don’t have an alphabet mat, a letter puzzle or magnetic letters can serve the same purpose. The key is to make it fun and relatable.

The post K-k-kick! appeared first on Dayton Parent Magazine.

Do you want to know how you can best prepare your child to be successful in kindergarten? Are you wondering what school is even like these days for a kindergarten student? Do you wish you could talk to someone who had these answers and more?

You’re in luck! This Monday, January 30, at the Centerville Library, we will be holding our annual Kindergarten: Ready or Not? program. Each year, we have a panel of local kindergarten teachers speak about the ideal traits of an incoming kindergarten student. In addition, the kindergarten experts will provide lots of concrete ideas for parents about activities that you can do at home with your child. We’ll also have a librarian on hand (yours truly), to talk about some of the library’s resources that can help you grow your little learner. There will be plenty of time at the end for questions. If you have a little one who will be starting kindergarten in the next year or two, you don’t want to miss this program!

What: Kindergarten: Ready or Not?

When: 7:00-8:30 PM, Monday, January 30, 2017

Where: Centerville Library – 111 W. Spring Valley Rd. Centerville, OH 45458

The post Kindergarten: Ready or Not? appeared first on Dayton Parent Magazine.